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Historical Fiction
Definition: Historical fiction is stories set in the past and seeks to recreate the aura of a time past, reconstructing characters, events, movements, ways of life, and the spirit of a bygone day: The time period--and its portrayal--is at the core of the story. Historical fiction may overlap other genres, for example historical realism, historical fantasy, historical tall tales, historical mysteries. Historical fiction may be a domestic novel, a psychological novel, etc.
Relationship to biography:
Historical fiction and biography complement each other. Where historical fiction portrays the era, including mention of some specific individuals; biography portrays the individual, including mention of some of the features of the era. Historical fiction enriches the context for biographies from the same time; biography enriches understanding of specific individuals.
Historical development:
- Developed from the romantic movement of the early 19th century.
- Appeals to the romantic desire to escape from the present.
- Historical fiction before World War I tended to be idealized and filled with patriotic sentiment.
- Historical fiction today attempts to reassess and understand the past rather than glorify it.
- After World War I, historical fiction declined in popularity. During the 1930s to 1960s, historical fiction regained popularity. The youth rebellions of the 1970s brought a rejection of the past and a clamor for relevance in fiction.
Characteristics of historical fiction:
- Unobtrusive history
- depends on a believable and reasonably accurate setting; often includes actual historical personages.
- events in historical fiction are creations of the authorıs imagination; they are not history.
- fills gaps for the reader, such as political and social history, customs, psychological attitudes, state of science and technology during the covered time period.
- primary requirement of historical fiction is that it tells a good story.
- Authenticity
- conveys the flavor of the period--its sights, sounds, smells, characteristics.
- uses language appropriate to the setting (time and place).
- faithful to the facts of the period--this means the author reads history of and documents from the period covered.
- Sensitivity
- writerıs of historical fiction must be sensitive to and balance the various intellectual views of an era.
- ignorance and prejudice have no place in the authorıs telling of the story or perspective of the era.
Evaluating historical fiction:
- tells a good story
- conveys the flavor of the historical period
- authentically captures the people of the period, their values, and their habits
- uses dialogue to make the characters sound authentic but not artificial
- faithfully uses historical knowledge to avoid distorting history
- fairly and sensitively portrays different sides of the compelling issues of the period
- gives us insight into contemporary problems as well as helps us understand the problems of the past
Age and historical fiction:
- children of any age can enjoy historical fiction.
- very young children have little understanding of chronology or the existence of a past and may not realize the story is from another era.
- around age 7 or 8 children become aware of the passage of time and the existence of a past
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